Anonymous Advice
by Tempest-2455
Summary: Emma realises her feelings for Regina are deeper than she had ever imagined, and so she attempts to pursue a relationship with the re-instated Mayor. Clueless on how to start she gets some anonymous advice and tips from the new issue of 'Cosmopolitan: 20 ways to get your woman' Post-curse and Neverland.


**Author's note: HEY! So I thought I'd try a one-shot or a two-shot (which is dependent on you guys) So I was at the dentist when I read a magazine just like this... - my inspiration right there. I don't know if it's good or not, I just wanted to write it. If you like it and you think I should continue and make it a two or three shot, then review and let me know! :)**

**Anonymous Advice**

Time seemed to be moving very slowly, almost painstakingly. Once again, Emma glanced up at the clock on the wall. _Fuck. Still another 45 minutes_. She slouched further into her seat, while Regina's proposal to build a new school gymnasium flowed into one ear and out the other. She had no desire to pay attention in these council meetings. Emma snatched the pencil in front of her and twirled it mindlessly. _I'm so fucking bored._ She rolled her eyes in frustration, her eyes immediately darting to her phone sitting innocently on the table in front of her, much like everyone else's. Regina had decided that a phone policy was required regarding certain people's tendency to be on their phone, rather than paying attention. Emma quickly glanced left and right before swiftly taking hold of the phone. She discreetly set the phone in her lap and browsed through her apps. _Angry birds? No. Dragonvale? No. Sims? No. Wait, what the hell is that doing on here?_ Emma's eyes grew wide at the rather inappropriate app. When had she downloaded that? _100 Sex Positions_. Emma felt the colour rise to her cheeks. She flicked her gaze around the room, as her thumb hovered hesitantly over the pink icon. _Ahh, fuck it._ Emma touched the screen and her eyes immediately widened when the application finished loading. _I never knew there were so many ways to do it_. A moment later an advertisement flashed upon the screen.

_'New issue: Cosmopolitan - with a one-time only guys section: 20 ways to get your woman!'_

Emma nodded her head impressively. _Doesn't look too bad_. A loud smack of the table jolted the blonde. She looked up to meet a menacing glare from the Mayor herself. Instead of quickly apologising for her actions, Emma let her eyes scan over the well-built woman. Damn. Ever since Neverland Emma often had several reoccurring dreams that would more often than not feature a particular mayoral brunette. Emma had no idea what had changed but recently she had felt a strong attraction to the woman, she wondered if the feeling was mutual. The blonde had noted that it had taken her forever to realise exactly how amazingly stunning and beautiful Regina really was.

_Omfg, what if Regina and I were a couple? Hell I'd be on the couch every night._ A light almost instantaneously set off in the blonde's mind. She had an idea. _The magazine was called Cosmopolitan, right? Yes, yes it was. _Emma swallowed and shifted upwards in her chair.

"Sorry, Madame Mayor. Please continue." Emma smirked. Her borderline grin almost doubled in size when she spotted the rather puzzled expression on the brunette's face.

The mayor shook her head dismissively, as though she had been in a temporary haze. Without another word to the grinning blonde she continued, while Emma thought out her plan. Step by step.

...

Belle was in the midst of sorting through the returned books when the Sheriff stumbled into the library. She watched the blonde glance around the room, her eyebrows furrowed as though it were a foreign place. The librarian chuckled.

Emma unconsciously rubbed the back of her neck. She hadn't been in a library in a while, at least not in search of a particular item. _Don't people who go to libraries know that there is Internet? _Emma spotted Belle at the front desk and immediately dashed over to her.

"Hey, Belle."

"Good afternoon, Sheriff. How can I help you?" The woman's thick Australian accent echoed in her ears.

Emma blushed slightly, "I was just wondering, do you guys happen to get...Uhh." She paused, attempting to recount the name of the magazine that she had momentarily forgotten.

"...Cosmopolitan?" She mumbled out.

Belle's eyes widened, her lips curling in amusement. "Looking for love advice?" She teased.

Emma frowned, "Yes, and keep it down." She grumbled, glaring at any other of the nearby residents of Storybrooke.

"I'm not sure if Cosmo has the ability to work on the mayor but you can try?" She shrugged with a massive grin plastered on her face as she moved out and around the desk.

Emma's jaw dropped, "H-how did you know?" She stuttered.

Belle raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it obvious? You stare at her as though she's a Queen...not an evil one, but more like someone who should be cherished and loved unconditionally." She concluded with an admirable grin.

"The song 'Unconditionally' by Katy Perry is also very good. And 'I kissed a girl' one of my favourites." The librarian looked fondly off to the side in thought before waving for Emma to follow her to a nearby rack of magazines.

Emma, still wildly taken back by the observation moved hesitantly. Her eyes glazed over all the magazines, admittedly she had never been one of those people who read magazines all day. No, comic books was more her style.

"In my opinion I think Cosmo is pretty good..." She trailed off, her eyes quickly searching the rack for the latest edition. Her smile brightened as she grasped it, "Lucky for you this issue has a special guys section on how to get your girl, except your not a guy but it'll still work." She chuckled, handing it towards the blonde.

"Are you sure it will work?" Emma pleaded desperately, already flicking through the magazine.

Belle chucked at the blonde's abnormally non-confident demeanour. "Like many things in life, not everything is guaranteed. But if all else fails just kiss her."

_Pfft. Taxes are guaranteed._

Emma nodded, liking Plan B very much.

"Oh, and just keep the magazine. I'm sure you'll find some other interesting things in there." Belle winked at the blonde before fleeing to attend to another customer in need of her services.

Emma took a seat in one of the comfy chairs in a more secluded area of the library and instantly found the section of the magazine that she needed. With a sceptical brow, Emma began reading the first article: 'How to Keep and Gain your woman's attention.'

It took her about 20 minutes to fully comprehend the various articles and accompanying pictures. There were many tips and pieces of advice sent in by anonymous people, stating that these tips had indeed helped them start a relationship with their man or woman of desire. Not only did it allow them a relationship, but it allowed them to have a successful balanced relationship that signifies equity. Some of them had claimed that just by using and following these pieces of advice people were able to build and maintain strong and healthy relationships. Emma, however, wasn't sure on how this was going to pan out. Attempting to as Regina would say 'court' the Evil Queen was a challenging task alone. However, she had deduced that it was at least worth a try.

She was now ready to try to 'Keep and Gain her woman's attention.'

...

_#1. Maintain careful eye contact. You want to gaze at your potential woman long enough to show interest, but not so that they get spooked or perceive you as viewing them like a piece of meat. Two or three seconds of a warm and soft glance ought to work!_

Emma was dismayed to discover that the amount of time that her eyes were glued to Regina was far too long. She shook her head to clear her mind and continued slicing the breadstick. She was only meant to drop Henry off but was unexpectedly invited to dinner by the mayor herself.

"So, Sheriff did you chase down any bad guys today?" Regina asked over her shoulder- the sizzling stir fry creating a delicious aroma. She switched the stove off and faced the blonde.

Emma gazed at Regina. _One. Two. Three._

She looked away before answering. "No, people were quite well behaved today. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't be able to run in these jeans even if I tried." Emma winked playfully, as a small smirk appeared upon the brunette's face.

"I'm fairly certain that I wouldn't be able to control myself if you did happen to face plant the ground one day, in those jeans." Regina retorted, amused by the mental image.

Emma feigned hurt, before infusing her gaze with warmth like the article had advised.

_One. Two. Three._

Noticing that Regina seemed somewhat confused by the stare, she was forced to look away. "Do you want to take a guess at what my parents are doing right now?" She chuckled nervously but relaxes the moment she noticed the woman's expression changes into that of disgust.

"Knowing those two idiots, they're probably _finding_ each other. In a whole new literal sense." Regina turned back to the food, ready to dish up.

Henry. Regina thought as she walked over to the entrance. "Henry, dinner's ready." She yelled upstairs.

Meanwhile, Emma took her sweet time to admire the woman's ass. She could feel her skin tingle at the sight of Regina alone. It was ultimately indescribable, Regina had brought out these particular feelings that Emma hadn't experienced in more than a decade. And it scared, Emma. It scared her that someone had the ability to break her, like so many other people in her past had done. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wished that know one could ever make her feel this way because she's exposed, out in the open. A myriad of emotions fluttered across a slightly paler face before Regina turned around and both woman immediately caught each other's eyes.  
_  
One. Two. Three._

"Are you okay?" Henry questioned, slightly concerned as he brushed past his adoptive mother to face Emma clearly.

The blonde face-palmed and rolled her eyes. This was not how it was suppose to go. "Yes, kid. I'm fine." She breathed out her frustration, with a small smile.

Before Emma could react Regina was merely inches away from her. The blonde instantly diverted her gaze to another part of the room.

"Why do you keep looking away from me?" Regina enquired curiously, something was definitely off about the Sheriff tonight.

Emma sighed tiredly, rubbing the creases in her forehead. Only now aware that Henry had left the kitchen. "I didn't want you to get spooked." She quoted hopeful that Regina understood the rules of dating in this land to understand what she's attempting to convey.

Regina took a step closer with a hand on her hip. "It's not working." She replied lightly, but cleared her throat intent on continuing. "You're Miss Swan. You're impulsive, you stare, make strange noises, eat mountains of processed foods and you curse regularly." Regina summed up in one breath, "And if I'm to be honest, if you acted any different then that would definitely 'spook' me." She prodded Emma's chest with her finger in a seemingly friendly gesture, a warm smile accompanying her face.

"Do be a dear and grab the plates for me?"

Too shocked to respond from Regina's somewhat compliment, Emma stood there speechless while Regina began setting the table.

Emma smirked, "So is that your way of saying you never want me to change?" She looked over at Regina.

The woman glanced at Emma briefly, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

"Just get the plates..._Emma_."

The Sheriff didn't know if Cosmo had given her good advice at all but from Regina's subtle compliment and revelation, Emma decided to count the encounter as a success.

...

_#2. Be a good listener! No one ever likes to think they're boring! Make sure you listen whenever she's talking and listen well! Even if she's rabbling on about the latest fashion trends! Side note: never ever say a woman has too many shoes, otherwise you're in for it!_

Once dinner was finished and Henry had gone to bed the two women retired to the study. They had began talking non-stop for the past hour. Regina had realised that Emma was indeed a good listener, when she wanted to be that is. The former Queen had ranted on about how the fashion differed greatly from Fairy tale Land to here in this realm. They had discussed Henry on several occasions before unintentionally breaching the touchy subject for both women: family.

"Growing up with a mother like Cora was almost unbearable." Regina casually shrugged as she downed the last of her wine.

Emma frowned in sympathy, moving closer to the brunette on the couch they shared. "I'm sorry," She whispered.

Without making eye contact, Regina shook her head. "What's done is done. You can't change the past."

Emma nodded in agreement. Before Emma could respond there were a set of fervent knocks on the front door. Regina immediately moved to her feet, "Excuse me for a moment." She said politely, as she opened and closed the door to the study in one fluid motion.

Emma glanced at the time on her phone. _It's 10pm who would come over at thi_- her thought was interrupted by screams of joy. She knew whose particular scream this belonged to. Kathryn. Moments later the Kathryn and Regina busted into the room.

"Oh hi, Sheriff!" Didn't expect to see you here at this time?!" She glanced towards Regina, discreetly winking.

Emma lifted the glass to her lips, "Same here." She spoke lightly. However, inside she was full of bitter. _Interrupt my time with Regina. How. Dare. You._ "So what was all the screaming about?" She asked without a care in the world.

"Well!" Kathryn started, obviously oblivious to the blonde's discomfort when she sat next to her. Regina went to the kitchen to refill her own glass.

"Me and Frederick are expecting a child in under 7 months!" She screeched at the top of her lungs.

Emma smiled genuinely happy for the pair, "Have any names yet for the baby?"

Emma realised that she should have never asked that question. For the next hour Kathryn and Regina blabbered on about all the possible names and whether they were going to name it after someone. Then there was the factor of getting the wedding sorted before the baby arrived. The pair decided that they wanted to be legally married in this realm. So the women chattered for another half an hour, while Emma just nodded and smiled. Third-wheeling at its finest.

"Okay I better head off. I need my beauty sleep. It was great seeing you, Sheriff!" The blonde waved as she headed towards the door. Both Emma and Regina followed and waved a final goodbye to the pregnant woman.

...  
#3. _Don't wait for her to suggest that you guys should go on a date! Be the man and grow a pair! Ask her out! Ask her out! Ask her out!_

After closing the door, Regina turned to face Emma. "I'm sorry that our night was interrupted." She apologised sincerely. Despite the fact that the blonde got on her nerves most of the time, she did enjoy Emma's company.

"It's okay, you can make it up to me though?" Emma smirked, instantly catching Regina's attention.

"Exactly how?, Miss Swan." Regina tried to sound firm and disinterested but the playfulness in her tone gave her away.

"I was thinking that we could watch a movie here, you, me and Henry tomorrow night. And then I take you out to dinner. What do you say?" Emma proposed, hoping to dear god that Regina would say yes.

Mildly taken back by how upfront and succinct the woman was being, Regina was at loss for words. She cleared her throat, "Like a date?" She needed to make sure.

Emma nodded, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks, "Yes, like a date." She confirmed and Regina nodded.

Regina contemplated her answer, "I'll say yes to the movie and I'll let you know about the date tomorrow." She finished happily a brief smile flashing across her face.

Emma nodded, "Good, now I better head off..." She trailed, before pulling her phone out to check the time. 11.45pm. Crap, I'm going to be late tomorrow. Oh no. Files. I have a mountain stack of files. Fuck me.

"It's late and I have plenty to do tomorrow." She smiled weakly, her hands buried in her back pockets. A common sign of her nerves that threatened to ruin everything.

"As do I." Regina replied smoothly, her eyes not leaving the green orbs in front of her.

Emma opened the front door and glanced left and right as she headed onto the front porch. It was unusually cold tonight, the blonde's teeth chattered and she shoved her hands into the embers of her jacket pockets. Emma swiftly turned around and nodded her head in acknowledgement of the woman standing before her.

"Goodnight, Regina." Emma murmured into the artic air.

"Goodnight, Emma." The brunette replied before gently closing the door shut. From her window she watched the blonde hop into that disgusting death trap and drive away. A small sigh left her lips as tonight's events sped like lightening through her mind.

Noticing that her body was physically exhausted, Regina began turning off all the lights downstairs before retiring to her room upstairs. It wasn't long before she was in her silk pyjamas and laying in bed. Unable to fall asleep.

...

Emma laid in bed with her bedside lamp on. She held the Cosmo magazine up to her face and read it closely. If she were to rate or acknowledge how the night went she would say that the first part of the evening was a success but the end of the night was not entirely successful. She still didn't know if Regina would agree to a date. Then again, she would have to wait until tomorrow to find out. She would not be able to sleep tonight.

Emma switched the lamp off and rolled to her side in an attempt to get somewhat comfortable. The digital clock read 12:01am and she had to be up in 7 hours. Emma groaned and shut her eyes, but not a moment later the sound of her phone vibrating jolted her awake.

Emma snatched her phone off her bedside table and opened the text without taking note of the sender. Emma's lazy eyes widened in surprise as she re-read the word over and over again.

**Regina Mills (12:01am): Yes.**

The phone vibrated once again as another text came through.

**Regina Mills (12:03am): I told you I'd let you know tomorrow or should I say today? ;)**

All Emma could do was grin like an absolute lunatic. She thrashed about in her bed full of excitement. She fist pumped the air and then grabbed the magazine on the floor. In a flash, bright light flooded the room and Emma flicked to the desired page. She repeatedly kissed the page, basically worshipping it as she read the next piece of advice - which had coincidentally related perfectly to her situation.

_#4. When asking a woman out. Be patient. A woman does not like to be rushed or forced into something. Let her take her time, she may not agree at first or at all. However, that does not mean you should give up all hope! This could be the beginning of your relationship!_

**Should I continue? (and make it either a two or three shot) I might have a few things up my sleeve :)**


End file.
